In today’s challenging economy it is all about customer service excellence. If you effectively listen in customer service you belong to an elite group of professionals. These professionals truly listen to results and they also listen to their income grow. They know one thing very well. Listening is not hearing.
As a sense, hearing begins at birth. Startled by noise, newborns cry when they hear sound for the very first time. But listening is indeed a skill. It is a sense only in the way it is associated with common sense. Understanding the situation and interpreting the issue will usually fix most communication errors (customer problems).
In this part of the East Coast and all along the Jersey Seaboard, our income is dependant on assertive listening. We buy and sell a lot of products in New Jersey and we have to realize that listening and speaking are transactional growth skills that get better with practice. There are times when we have to slow down a customer issue and apply these listening techniques.
- Eliminate all distractions and focus.
- Have eye contact and positive non-verbals (body language).
- Show a voluntary willingness to listen.
- Make clear decisions about the problem even though you did not create it (ownership).
We need to “out listen” the customers like we would out run or out jump someone. Proactivity eliminates the urge to pretend to listen. Pretending creates hearing selectivity, wastes time, and creates false assumptions. Failing to listen is a service fiasco.
Simply put, in any situation we need to “BE THERE”. It is a mental and physical challenge to understand and be empathetic in every listening situation.
Remember:
- Sense the issue.
- Evaluate the concern.
- Respond in a positive way.
- Retain and support the customer’s concerns.
Evaluate and respond to this “adage”; hear today or be gone tomorrow. Service is your income.
Check out How to Communicate with Diplomacy and Tact scheduled for Monday, March 19 in Bordentown.
This post is shared with you by the good folks at Dale Carnegie Training of Central & Southern New Jersey. We would love to connect with you on Facebook.